Actual Trans Ams are going up in value and many car enthusiasts are finding it too expensive to acquire an early 1970’s Trans Am. When that happens, many people opt to clone a desirable car which can sometimes be cheaper and sometimes it is not. This car looks like a 1973 Pontiac Trans Am but it is actually a 1973 Pontiac Formula. Pontiac offered the second generation Trans Am in four different models – the base Firebird, Esprit, Formula and Trans Am. This car is listed here on eBay with three days remaining in the auction. The car is bid to $22,322 and has a Buy It Now Price of $29,995. It is located in Temperance, Michigan.
The 1973 Trans Am was offered with two different versions of the Pontiac 455 cubic inch V8 engine. The base engine was the Y Code 455 rated at 250 horsepower. The optional X code 455 cubic inch engine was the Super Duty engine rated at 290 horsepower. This car has a 1975 455 HO engine from a GTO. It is said to run well and is backed by a Muncie M20 4 speed transmission. The drivetrain has a new flywheel, clutch and pressure plate. A recent exhaust system was also installed.
The interior looks very nice. It has the black deluxe “horsecollar” seats with manual windows and an aftermarket radio. The dash is not cracked and the seats still look supple and not dry or sun faded. The suspension has new bushings, brakes and looks like recently installed BF Goodrich Radial TA tires. The rear end has the correct 3.42:1 rears for a 4 speed non AC car. One nice feature of the car is the aftermarket Vintage Air system that is installed. I have this on my 1971 Trans Am and it works 3X better than the factory AC.
The paint on the car is faded as are the decals. The 1973 Trans Am came in only three colors – Buccaneer Red, Brewster Green and Cameo White. The emergency brake cable was recently replaced which is important on a car with a manual transmission. The car rides on factory 15×7 honeycomb wheels. So, what do you think of this clone?
Anyone interested in this car needs to go over it with a fine tooth comb. The seller says the engine is a 455HO from a 1971 GTO, yet the heads are D-port heads, not the round port heads that were specific to the 455HO. There are lots of problems with the paint, considering it’s a clone and the asking price. A look at his recently completed sales would be a good idea, a 1975 Trans Am he was selling was featured on this site a week or so ago.
Steve R
The builder should have left the 455HO in the GTO, assuming it wasn’t too far gone, and left this a Formula. As it sits, he diminished both cars. $30K for a needy 1973 Trans Am replica is simply too much money.
The odds of this having a 455HO isn’t great. The heads are #66, which were used on 1971 passenger car 455’s with D-ports and have 114cc combustion chamber. The likelihood of the rest of the engine being an HO aren’t great, considering a complete rebuildable 455HO core would probably cost well over $5,000, the asking price on the car makes no sense since the asking price is based on in accurate information.
Steve R
If the buyer likes it knowing what it is then it doesn’t matter what it is.
i would certainly agree. the world would be a better place if they thought like you
Once a clone ior s “tribute” car, it will always be compromised……
I can see the value if it were for the repair of a 1973 455 sd. if it perhaps needed a front clip, subframe and 1973 doors. that would make a 73 front clip frame and doors worth around 20,000 …if a donor car was needed. it looks like a 73 front end. most of 1973 firebird parts are unique to 1973…that would itself make any 73 firebird parts very valuable… after all most sd’s are hovering around 85,000 to 110,000…if the parts on this ta were genuine GM parts who could even begin to tell its value as far as restoriing a SD.
What was wrong with the sellers GTO that he had to transplant it to this Pontiac? Still a decent car!